


I'm So Sorry

by livvy_x



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-23 02:44:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13180713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livvy_x/pseuds/livvy_x
Summary: After Betty and Jughead breakup because of the Black Hood blackmailing, what happens when Archie and his friends walk into the Whyte Wyrm to tell Jughead, who is fully devoted to the Serpents, that he needs to help find Betty.





	I'm So Sorry

When Archie had came outside of the Jones’ trailer and ended things between Betty and Jughead, on her orders, everything seemed to have changed. The harshness that Archie, Jug’s childhood best friend showed in the process of granting Betty’s wish of breaking them up and in the way he showed his disapproval had practically stabbed the Jones boy right in the heart. In typical Jughead manner, he closed off from all Northside contacts. No more Archie, the friend who now looked down on him. No more Veronica, the one who he’d simply grown accustomed to. No more Fred, the man who was like his second father. No more Cheryl, the raging bitch that he was glad to get away from. No more Kev, the boy who tried to make light of things. And last but not least, no more Betty, the love of his life, who had left him, just like all the other people he’s ever loved.

Unsurprisingly, due to years of practice, Jughead was swift in hiding his emotions. Sure, at first, when he was by himself, it was harder. When Toni kissed him, the feeling of an escape that he so had hoped for was not there… making everything even more upsetting. That night he had cried for hours, whispering the name _‘Betty’ _between sobs. This is what he had hated. She had gotten so far under his skin that the thought of her not loving him made him want to scream.__

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Not a single member of the Southside Serpents saw him sweat though. On the outside, he was strong, a rising member of the gang. It was clear that he was going to take his father leading spot, and he had only been there for about a month. Though it started out as a rocky road between him and the other Serpents, he was on the right path with them. When needed, he had a certain authority over them, even the elder members. It could be because he had Jones blood, descending from a true Serpents family line, but whether it was that or not, it was beneficial to him.

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At the moment, the whole Southside gang was in the Whyte Wyrm. They were drinking, playing pool, doing what people do in bars. Next to Toni and Fangs, Jughead was sitting on a bar stool, unshockingly being one of the people without a drink in his hand. Toni had settled with being Jughead’s friend, and honestly, she knew from that start that it worked better that way. She still had a tiny, hopeless, and secret crush on him though… but that was nothing. Fangs was pretty chill too, and probably the nicest of the Serpents.

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The three of them, along with two of the older head men, one named Tall Boy and another named Jenkins, were going over informations about FP Jones’ next trial, and if the chances of him getting out of jail were high or not. Jughead wanted his father to be released, especially being that he’s practically settled into being a gang member without any true or proper supervision or help. He would’ve preferred that his father was there, but then again, if he was, he’d probably never be in this position. He’d probably be with Betty.

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“So,” Jenkins started. “Lil’ Jones, you think your Pops is getting out or not? You’ve been talkin’ all this smart shit and I ain’t following. Normal people terms, kid,” he said, needing a clearer explanation. Toni snorted at the older man’s stupidity.

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Before Jughead had the chance to say something, Tall Boy spoke up. “Jughead thinks he’s gettin’ out,” he told him, also showing signs of annoyance and shock in the other man’s dumbness.

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“I—” Jughead was about to explain further, but was cut off when the sound of the doors of the bat slamming open cut him off. The silence that fell over everyone made him whip around to see what was going on.

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Archie. Veronica. Kevin. Cheryl.

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Jughead stiffened, and in his mind, he made sure those mental walls that he built so high throughout his life were up and steady… they were; they had been since the last time he saw Archie. “Jug—” Veronica started, but then Sweetpea and others of the gang started lurching forward.

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“Stop!” Jughead shouted and the Serpents stopped, backing away. The boy lit a cigarette and looking his old Northside pals up and down. He could tell that they seemed frantic, but he shouldn’t care, so he made sure he didn’t. Jughead stood up, but didn’t walk closer. He was aware of the Serpents eyes on him, and he was aware of the heavy eyes that the Northsiders had. “What are you doing here?” He asked, coldly. “Got yourself into another stupid mess that you need help getting out of?”

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Archie stepped forward. “Jug, listen, man—”

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Jughead snorted as he shook his head. “Dude, I’m done messing around with your childish ways. We’re aren’t friends, remember? ‘The path’ I’ve chosen isn’t right for you. I’m a Serpent now—”

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“It’s Betty,” Veronica called out, pleadingly. With the infamous name that was so often whispered about that was known as Jughead’s ex girlfriend, the Serpents became more even attentive. “Jug, it’s Betty,” she said again. To everyone’s eyes, there seemed to be no reaction to the name, but Archie, who had known him all his life, had saw the hurt flicker in his eyes.

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“She’s wanted out, remember? Her and I are done. She clearly made no effort to explain herself, so I want nothing to do with her,” he said around his cigarette. “Plus, if she needed something, she’d be here. She doesn’t want to talk to me, and I don’t want to talk—”

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Kevin let out a frustrated grunt, surprising his friends. “You’re not the only one, dumbass. She hasn’t talked to any of us for three weeks… hasn’t even talked to her family. Alice is flipping the fuck out. Betty locked herself in her room,” he said, shaking his head.

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Before looking at Jughead’s reaction, they had looked to Cheryl, who had decided to say something. “Polly called me. She’s gone now. I’m supposed to just be here for the ride, but listen, emo god, you gotta find your girl. Clearly, some twisted shit is going on with Chatty Cathy when she shuts everyone out,” she said.

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“We don’t even know if she’s been eating anything, Jug. I’ve never seen her like this. What if she—” Veronica meant to say more, but she had to stop. She didn’t want to think of Betty in a bad state. 

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This caused a slight reaction from Jughead, and everyone noticed… Serpents included. His shoulders hunched and his eyebrows furrowed. He had been worried about her with the psychopaths in Riverdale, but he figured that she’d be fine. That girl knew how to take care of herself, she always had. Cutting everyone out from her life was not her though, and it caused an unpleasant itch under Jughead’s skin.

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As people silently watched Jughead, Archie couldn’t help but feel like the only way to get him to help was the truth, which he had hidden so well. “Jug, fucking listen to me, man,” he begged. Jughead looked at him with eyes that only he and Betty could read… pain and the need for answered. “Shit, I’m gonna get if for this,” the redhead muttered to himself, knowing that it would piss people off that he kept his mouth shut for so long. “The Black Hood’s been calling her,” he babbled.

____

No one could believe what they heard. Veronica turned to look at her boyfriend like he was insane. Cheryl’s eyebrows raised. Kev’s jaw fell open. The Serpent’s tensed at the name of the criminal, knowing what damage he could cause. And of course, Jughead looked like he was now on fire. “What?”

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Archie closed his eyes. “The Black Hood, he’s been calling her. When she would talk to me about it, she said that he wanted—” He stopped talking when he saw the puzzle pieces go together in Jughead’s brain. It had been clear now that this killer had ordered her to rid of all those that she loved, and Jug wasn’t liking it. He simply let out a sigh and waited for a response. He knew the others were baffled, but what mattered right now was Betty, and that was it.

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All of a sudden, Jughead walked towards them. “Let’s go,” he said, motioning towards the door. His hard exterior was still on, taking Archie aback, but he went along with it. To his surprise, the Serpent’s stood up and followed. “What are you guys doing?” He asked before going any farther.

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“We protect our own,” Tall Boy said, fixing his jacket. “You ain’t facin’ the Black Hood by yourself if you have to.” He was very protective over Jughead, and so were the others, which is why they were all on bored.

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“We might not even see the Black Hood—”

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“Doesn’t matter, boy,” Tall Boy said. “Were coming with.” There was no way that Jughead was going to alter this decision, so he just went along with it. With that, Jughead nodded and started out the door.

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It started quick. They searched places around the area, and then around places that Betty was familiar with and was fond of. Jughead was growing angrier by the minute. _How could I have been so stupid? To just let her slip away? To believe she didn’t love me? _He wanted to stab the Black Hood in the throat for ever creating a dent in his relationship, and especially for messing with Elizabeth Cooper. No one messes with Betty, and for now on, that was final.__

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They looked and looked and looked, but nothing. Jughead then turned to Cheryl. “You said she was just gone… like kidnapped gone or ran away gone? Like window or door?” He furrowed his brows.

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“Polly said through the door,” Cheryl responded, wondering what Jughead was thinking.

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Jughead mind seemed to be clicked, and everyone watched as he thought. If she simply broke down, and needed to be with someone she valued very much, he had an idea of where she’d be. Truthfully, he should’ve thought of it soon. “I think I know where she is,” he said, taking off without further explanation. Everyone was baffled. His heart was pounding and every second made him more upset. He wanted to cry, but somehow, he managed to choke it back.

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When they arrived in the trailer park that Jughead resides in, the crew and the gang got even more confused. “What are we doing here?” Kevin asked. “This is where you live,” he stated the obvious.

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Jughead put a hand out to stop them from walking and hushed everyone. He had to do this alone… well as alone as he could be. Everyone stayed behind as Jughead slowly walked towards his trailer. They watched him. When the boy was close enough, like he expected, he found Betty sitting in the doorway of his home. That was it, he broke. His shoulders fell from their confident place, his face fell from it’s stern, unreadable looked. He couldn’t stop it, she made him weak. It was something the Serpent’s had never seen. It surprised them even more when they realized that Jughead hadn’t even noticed them all come closer so they could see the full scene unfold.

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“Betty?” Jughead whispered, walking closer. He felt immobile as he very slowly made his way closer to her. The closer he got, the quicker and more unsteady his breathing got. He saw that her standard, tight ponytail was loose and low, which is very unlike her. “Betts,” he repeated her name. She looked up, through tear stained eyes. She looked so skinny. After realizing that is when he saw her bloody hands. “Oh, my god,” he sunk to her, not being able to keep back from wrapping her up in his arms. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he blabbered, crying along with her.

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Betty was sobbing, holding her bleeding hands to her chest and Jughead held her. “No, no. I… I’m sorry,” she poured out. “I can’t be here,” she mumbled. She repeated it again, but sat up this time, pushing back. Her eyes were wild now, and very fearful. “I can’t be here. How did I get here? He'll kill you. Juggie, he said he’ll kill you,” she cried, but Jughead just came forwards and pulled her into him again.

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“It’s okay, baby,” he whispered, still crying as well. “No one’s gonna kill me,” he said as he placed soft kisses to the side of her temple. “It’s okay,” he kept saying. The boy rubbed up and down her back. He felt so guilty, just letting her go like that… not making sure she was alright. He could have protected her; he should have protected her. “Fuck,” he muttered.

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“It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I don’t want you to die,” Betty kept saying, but Jughead kept dismissing the apologies and telling her that he wouldn’t die on her. After so long of him telling her that it was okay, she started to reboot herself. When she caught her breath once again and pulled back to look at him, she couldn’t help but repeat, “I’m so sorry.” She looked into his eyes; his watery, tired, longing eyes.

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“Stop, Betty. I’m the only who should be sorry,” Jughead responded. Before she could say something, he grabbed onto her bloodied hands to inspect them. The nail imprints from where she dug her fingers into her skin were deeper than he thought they ever could be. As another tear rolled down his cheek, he kissed her injured palms. It reminded him of the time at Pop’s after the birthday party she had thrown for him, when he had gotten punched and were on the verge of breaking up over something very dumb. It was the first time she had shown him her way of self harming, and then, like now, he kissed her hands, wanting to make the pain go away. After a moment of staring into each other’s eyes, Jughead leaned forwards and kissed her. “I love you, Betty. Do you understand that?”

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“I know,” Betty said, chokingly. She felt as if she was about to erupt again. Being with Jughead, she could let her walls down and show how she felt.

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“We’re gonna handle this. For now on, I will never be as terrible as I was. I’m gonna protect you, okay? Keep you safe. I need to keep you safe. I need to,” Jughead said with exasperation. “I should’ve been there. I should’ve known you weren’t yourself the day before at Pop’s. I should’ve been there,” he said, tears falling down his cheeks again. “I should’ve known you’d never send Archie to end things with me. Fuck! I should’ve seen it all. Goddamnit, I’m so sorry,” he cried into her shoulder.

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“You wouldn’t have known, Juggie. I hid it pretty well for awhile there,” Betty explained. “I couldn’t stand to think of him killing you though.” She moved so that they were face to face. “I love you too much to lose you, okay?” She held onto his tear stained cheeks.

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“I know, I can’t believe I was so fucking stupid to ever doubt that,” Jughead said, leaning their foreheads together. He took a moment to just breathe in her scent, taking in the fact that he had his soulmate back. One last deep breath and he said, “Let me take you inside. I’ll clean up your hands and make you something to eat. You need to eat.”

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“Okay,” Betty whispered. To her surprise, after they untangled, Jughead swooped her up in his arms, bridal style. “I can walk, Juggie,” she lightly chuckled, but still rested her head on his shoulder.

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Jughead shook his head. “I am not letting you go,” he responded, which explained enough. Betty nodded and nuzzled closer. They loved and missed this close proximity oh, so much. Not having it was one of the many things that was driving her over the edge the past couple of weeks.

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“Betty,” Veronica called out softly. Betty didn’t even seem to hear it though, being as she didn’t react to it. Jughead’s heart dropped to his stomach, remembering that all of those people were standing there watching this happen. The Serpent’s saw his weakness… but once he thought about it, he didn’t care all that much. Betty was his number one priority and that had to be known.

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Jughead closed his eyes momentarily and let out a sigh. “I got it handled. You guys can go,” he said, mainly towards the Serpent’s. He then locked eyes with Veronica. “She’ll be okay.”

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“Tell them all I’m sorry,” Betty mumbled so that only Jughead would hear. She felt ashamed for all the bad happened, she wished that she could’ve found another alternative, but she couldn’t figure anything out besides doing what the Black Hood instructed her to. “For just ignoring them like that,” she whispered.

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Jughead frowned. “She’s sorry guys,” he told them, not looking to see their saddened reactions.

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“Forsythe,” Tall Boy called out, using Jughead’s real name to emphasize the seriousness in what he was about to say. It made Jughead tense up, like something bad was about to happen, but he was wrong. The older, long haired man said, “We’ll help you find the Black Hood. That asshole belongs in the ground.” Jughead nodded at the , thankfully, and then walked into his trailered with Betty in his arms, leaving everyone to stand out there.

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The Serpent’s stood next to the Northsiders, not saying a word. They all just stared as the trailer door closed. For the gang members, that was something they had never ever expected… a Jones to be so soft? Archie and the crew were surprised too. Yes, they knew that before everything happened, Betty and Jughead had a great and supportive relationship, but they never realized that the love ran so deep.

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Fangs had an actual tear roll down his cheek. “Man, I hope those two work out,” he said, ignoring it when Toni punched him in the arm. “They love each other.” Truly not a surprise to see Fangs so worked up about this.

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“Seems like he’s a bitch to me,” Sweetpea said, causing Toni to now punch him in the gut. Archie tensed up at that because even though he and Jug haven’t been on the best terms, they were still, what he considered, brothers, and not matter what shit they were in, it was always going to be that way.

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Now, Jenkins stepped forward. “Sweetpea, you ever been in love?” The older guy asked, to which to black haired boy shook his head. “Then that explains it. Just because we’re Serpents doesn’t mean that we don’t have a soft spot for that one special thing in our heart. Ask Tall Boy. Ask FP when he gets out. I may be stupid, but I know what that was was real. Love is love, boy. You ought to learn that.” To that, Sweetpea just took a step back and stuck his hands in his pockets. He did not like getting told off by the elders of the gang, it made him feel small.

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“I thought he was over her,” Toni said quietly. Her voice didn’t sound sad because she wasn’t hurt, she just was surprised. Then she started to wonder how Betty was going to take the information about her and Jughead’s kiss, but those thoughts were pushed to the side when that one pretty, redheaded, rich girl spoke up.

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Cheryl snorted. “They’re soulmates. Like Romeo and Juliet or some shit. That’ll never happen,” she said. She looked Toni up and down, checking her out. “What do you know about soulmates?” She cocked an eyebrow flirtatiously, making the Southside girl simply smirk at her in response.

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Tall Boy rolled his eyes at the way Toni did that to people. “Let’s roll out of here… go back to the Whyte Wyrm,” he called out to his gang, who were already starting to walk.

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“Wait!” Archie called out. He was intimidated by them, but he had to ask a serious question. “You’re really gonna help Jug find the Black Hood?” Tall Boy nodded. “That motherfucker doesn’t deserve to be here anymore, correct?” Tall Boy nodded again. “Thanks,” Archie finished, and with that the gang was off. The Northside crew just stared at them before leaving themselves, surprised yet happy that everything was going to be worked out. It was all going to be okay.

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**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! I'm bugheadfanfictionxx on tumblr, and I just made this AO3 account. I'm moving everything from my masterlist on there to here :)


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